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Judgment on the Nations

34 Come near, O nations, to hear;
    and listen, O peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes from it.
For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations
    and His fury upon all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
    He has delivered them to the slaughter.
Their slain also shall be cast out,
    and their corpses shall emit their stench,
    and the mountains shall be drenched with their blood.
All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
    and the heavens shall be rolled together as a book;
and all their host shall fall down
    as the leaf falls from the vine,
    and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

For My sword is filled in heaven;
    see, it shall come down for judgment on Edom,
    and on the people whom I have devoted to destruction.
The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
    it is made full with fatness,
and with the blood of lambs and goats,
    with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
    and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
The wild oxen shall also fall with them,
    and the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
so their land shall be soaked with blood,
    and their dust become greasy with fat.

For it is the day of the vengeance of the Lord,
    and the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
    and its dust into brimstone,
    and its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
    its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
    no one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 But the cormorant and the hedgehog shall possess it,
    the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it.
And He shall stretch out on it
    the line of desolation,
    and the plumb line of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but no one shall be there,
    and all her princes shall be nothing.
13 Thorns shall come up in her palaces,
    nettles and brambles in the fortresses;
and it shall be a habitation of jackals
    and a home for owls.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wolves,
    and the wild goat shall cry to its kind;
the screech owl also shall rest there
    and find for herself a place of rest.
15 There shall the tree snake make its nest and lay eggs,
    and it shall hatch and gather them under its protection;
yes, there shall the vultures also be gathered,
    every one with its kind.

16 Seek from the book of the Lord, and read.

Not one of these shall be missing,
    not one shall lack its mate.
For His mouth has commanded,
    and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
    and His hand has divided it to them by line.
They shall possess it forever,
    from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.

Judgment Against the Nations

34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(A)
    pay attention, you peoples!(B)
Let the earth(C) hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!(D)
The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath(E) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[a](F) them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.(G)
Their slain(H) will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies(I) will stink;(J)
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(K)
All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(L)
    and the heavens rolled up(M) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(N)
    like withered(O) leaves from the vine,
    like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

My sword(P) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(Q)
    the people I have totally destroyed.(R)
The sword(S) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
    it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
    fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(T) in Bozrah(U)
    and a great slaughter(V) in the land of Edom.
And the wild oxen(W) will fall with them,
    the bull calves and the great bulls.(X)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(Y)
    and the dust will be soaked with fat.

For the Lord has a day(Z) of vengeance,(AA)
    a year of retribution,(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;(AC)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(AD) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.(AE)
From generation to generation(AF) it will lie desolate;(AG)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[b](AH) and screech owl[c] will possess it;
    the great owl[d] and the raven(AI) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(AJ)
    the measuring line of chaos(AK)
    and the plumb line(AL) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes(AM) will vanish(AN) away.
13 Thorns(AO) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AP)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AQ)
    a home for owls.(AR)
14 Desert creatures(AS) will meet with hyenas,(AT)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AU) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;(AV)
there also the falcons(AW) will gather,
    each with its mate.

16 Look in the scroll(AX) of the Lord and read:

None of these will be missing,(AY)
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(AZ) that has given the order,(BA)
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(BB)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.(BC)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
  2. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  4. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.